


parallel

by gullapip



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: 'darwin's atoms piece themselves together after a bit' au, Established Relationship, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, or - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-22 22:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6095389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gullapip/pseuds/gullapip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>darwin is used to being more used to things than alex, sometimes he almost forgets what alex has been through too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	parallel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Murf1307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murf1307/gifts).



> for murf, who is endlessly patient and strong

Armando thinks he's really starting to get things under control, kept under wraps, when he nearly falls out of his chair at dinner after smacking Angel's hand away from his face. Somehow a playful debate over whose grandmother's cooking would be better led to Angel raising a chunk of bread toward his mouth and Armando reacting with a panicked aggression that shocked everyone into silence, including him. He moved his mouth wordless for a moment, shaking his head before actual words came out and apologizing profusely. Halfway through the second 'I'm so sorry' he pushes away from the table and rushes out of the room with a half-conscious 'excuse me'. The rest of them glance around at each other before quickly settling on Alex, who was already on his feet before Armando had left the doorway and hurried after him without so much as a look at anyone else.

 

He feels Alex walking up before he sees him, thinks about straightening out from his hunched stance leaning on a railing in the yard, but doesn't feel it's necessary enough. Alex doesn't either, it seems, walks heavier and moves slower than usual before joining him there, and it's reassuring in a way Armando isn't expecting. It's the difference between standing in air and feeling the breeze, sometimes it's not enough to know, it has to be felt. He thinks Alex probably understands, shifting his weight with calm intent before settling next to him against the railing, taking the time to gauge how close is too close and how far away is too far without being tentatively obvious about it. The silence is a comfort rather than a weight, and Armando feels something loud and tense drain out of him after a while, leaving him heavy and slack and tired in the aftermath. Alex speaks up after that, staring out at the lawn and sounding comfortable and sure in his sincerity, in his exposure. It's new and touching and Armando wishes he could've heard it first about something else, something better, but thinks perhaps it's easier, more familiar to Alex, this way.

 

'I get it, you know. I mean, I get that- sometimes, stuff just- _happens_. And you react to that, even if you feel like you shouldn't, like you normally wouldn't. It's not personal, or intentional. You just, remember stuff, your body remembers stuff, even after it's over and done with. And it reacts to that. ...It's- it can be hard, really hard. I know that. It's not always something you can control, like- like a mutation. You have to work at it, work with yourself. It's a little different for everybody, but, I get it. You're not- there isn't anything _wrong_ with you. Stuff just changes.'

 

It's the most Armando's heard him say when he wasn't upset and he feels kind of privileged, he's certainly touched, and on some level, a little safer than he has since he came back. Alex _gets it_ , he can tell, and sounds like he knows how to navigate it some way. How to handle it, at least. He doesn't like feeling so... reactive, uncontrollably so. He's not okay with it at all. But Armando is happy to let Alex talk, happy to leave the silence where it is, he really doesn't feel like being an active part of any discussion right now, and Alex seems to pick up on that, picks up again after a few moments.

 

'If, um, if you ever, want any backup, or anything, I- I've got you. If you just, need a break, or an out, or something. I know you can handle _anything_ , I just figured, just in case.'

  
Armando shifts his weight to be a little closer, enough to show it's okay, they're okay, nods once and smiles a little, easier and gentle and hinting at grateful. It makes Alex happier, more reassured, than if he'd thanked him out loud, thanked him _obviously_ , he's more uncomfortable with public displays of positive emotion than ever, but they always manage to stay on the same page. And if, sometimes, it's Armando instead of Alex who wakes up in the middle of the night confused and disoriented and tensed up like a too tight spring, that's something they both know already, know it as well as they know each other, and it's no one's business but theirs.


End file.
